Adnan Miakhel, the Afghanistan refugee star of Andrew Flintoff’s BBC show ‘Field of Dreams’, has made an impressive debut for Lancashire’s second team on Tuesday.
Miakhel made an unbeaten 25 on debut as Lancashire were bowled out by 159 by Yorkshire.
The 18-year-old then claimed a wicket, with the left arm seamer striking with his third ball on the first day of a three-day friendly.
Miakhel had been part of the first two series of Flintoff’s documentary series, as the England cricket legend returned to Preston to offer teenagers the chance to take up the game.
The teenager had fled Afghanistan without his parents, with the journey to Preston taking five months.
During the show, he emotionally revealed to Flintoff ‘My mum was crying and she said, “Your life is in danger”.
Adnan Miakhel, who was part of Andrew Flintoff’s ‘Field of Dreams’ documentary, has made his debut for Lancashire’s second team
Miakhel had been helped by Flintoff to secure asylum in the UK after fleeing Afghanistan
Miakhel was part of the group of teenage players from Preston who were taken to India as part of the second series
‘I left and didn’t see her again and didn’t speak with her again.’
Miakhel, who arrived in Preston in the back of a lorry in April 2021, spent his first night with foster carers Barry and Elaine. There were plans in place for Miakhel to find a permanent place but after a few weeks, he decided he wanted to stay with Barry and Elaine.
Elaine told how Miakhel did not speak any English when he arrived and walked around with his head down. However, his life was transformed when Barry took him to play cricket.
Flintoff’s help proved vital for the teenager with the Ashes hero having written to the Home Office to help Miakhel to receive asylum, having initially been denied at the first attempt.
Miakhel, who will be able to apply for British citizenship in six years’ time, has won a scholarship at one of Lancashire’s most prestigious boarding schools while playing for the county’s Under-18s team.
The 18-year-old has taken another step on achieving his dream of becoming a professional cricketer by making his debut for Lancashire’s second team.
‘Can’t tell how much I’m happy,’ Miakhel wrote on Instagram. ‘Today was my Lancashire 2nd XI debut against Yorkshire 2nd XI and I have been given the debut by Lancashire legend Steve Croft sir.
‘Thank you very much to anyone that helped me and support me in my cricketing journey so far thank you.’
Miakhel has targeted playing professional cricket and took a step in following Flintoff’s footsteps
Flintoff has been the subject of a Disney+ documentary which explored the extent of his injuries from the crash suffered while filming Top Gear that almost took his life in 2022
Flintoff is seen looking at the reconstructive work in a mirror as part of the documentary
Mr Jahrad Haq (right), an oral and maxillofacial surgeon, operated on Flintoff, who had extensive damage to both the hard and soft tissue of his face
Miakhel, who could not write or speak English when he arrived in the country at the age of 15, has been a team-mate of Flintoff’s youngest son Rocky in Lancashire’s Under-18 team.
The second series of the Field of Dreams documentary had seen Flintoff take the Preston boys on a trip of a lifetime to India.
The series came after Flintoff’s horror Top Gear crash, which left him struggling with anxiety, nightmares and flashbacks.
Flintoff, 47, has been the subject of a harrowing television documentary released by Disney+ which has detailed the crash, his substantial injuries and his long road to recovery.
‘After the accident, I didn’t think I had it in me to get through,’ Flintoff admitted in the documentary. ‘This sounds awful: part of me wishes I had been killed, part of me thinks “I wish I had died.”
‘I didn’t want to kill myself, don’t mistake the two things, but I was thinking “this would have been so much easier.”‘
The former England captain also revealed that the incident while filming for BBC TV show Top Gear in December 2022 – in which the Morgan Super 3 three-wheeled sports car he was driving flipped, dragging him across the tarmac of Dunsfold Aerodrome in Surrey – replays over and over like a movie in his mind.
‘My biggest fear was I didn’t think I had a face. I thought my face had come off,’ Flintoff said.
Flintoff’s recovery has been aided by cricket, with the former England captain having taken charge of the England Lions.
